(Asharq Al-Awsat-UK) Najlaa Habriri - U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook told Asharq Al-Awsat in Davos that if Esmail Ghaani, the successor to Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, "follows a similar path of killing Americans, he will meet the same fate....Any attacks against American personnel or interests in the region will be met with a decisive response....I think the regime now understands that they cannot attack America at will, and expect to get away with it." Hook said, "You need to take a comprehensive approach to this problem set. And that's the nuclear program, the missile program, the regional aggression, the expansionist foreign policy, the hostage-taking. We aren't going to make a difference in the Middle East unless we take a comprehensive approach, and the big mistake of the Iran nuclear deal, among many, is that it was very narrow." "The world's leading state sponsor of terrorism will have the UN arms embargo lifted in 9 or 10 months....Perhaps the theory was five years into the deal, the moderates would be in charge. That's foolish. This is a regime that does not have moderates. The supreme leader is in charge. He's called the supreme leader for a reason, and he's not a moderate. He's a hardliner. He makes the decisions and we judge the regime by what it does, not by what (Foreign Minister) Zarif says."
2020-01-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive